CENTRAL NEW YORK – When the West Genesee softball team knocked off Cicero-North Syracuse on April 9, it seemed to herald a promising season, but three consecutive defeats followed.
Of those losses, none were as frustrating as last Tuesday’s 6-4 defeat to visiting Liverpool, a team it led twice, 1-0 in the first inning and again 2-1 after notching a run in the fifth.
Answering this, Liverpool struck for five runs in the top of the sixth, largely taking advantage of WG’s struggles on defense as it finished with seven errors.
Down 6-2, the Wildcats did cut the margin in half in the bottom of the seventh, but could not pull even. Kyra Lynch scored a pair of runs, with Allana Bowman also crossing the plate as Anna Drogo finished with an RBI.
Solvay returned to action and faced Cazenovia on Wednesday night. For the first time since 2010, the Lakers were able to prevail in this league battle, beating the Bearcats 9-6.
A five-run second inning by Cazenovia broke up a 1-1 tie and gave the Lakers the lead for good. Still, Solvay battled to the end, Jenna Wing getting two hits, two RBIs and scoring twice as Delaney Kaszubinski added two hits and an RBI.
Three days later, Solvay met Port Byron and, by that same 9-6 margin, earned its first win of the season, the Bearcats going out in front with three runs in the first inning and adding five total runs in the fourth and fifth to withstand the Panthers’ comeback.
Wing and Kaszubinski both got three hits and two RBIs, with Sylvia Sgroi-Whalen driving in a pair of runs as she and Gianna D’Eredita both managed two hits.
Bishop Ludden has enjoyed a wild start to its season, scoring 58 runs in four games but only splitting them as it outlasted Hannibal 21-17 in eight innings last Monday afternoon.
Up 7-5 through three innings, the Gaelic Knights gave up eight runs in the bottom of the fourth, but then put together five-run rallies in the fifth and sixth innings, only to have Hanniball tie it again with three runs in the sixth and another in the seventh.
But Ludden broke the 17-17 tie with four runs in the top of the eighth and got the final outs, Serena Royal finishing with two doubles, two singles and five RBIs. Sophia Chemotti tripled twice and drove in four runs, with Amyah Macknail’s four hits leading to two RBI as Chemotti scored four runs and Mia Scutari scored three runs.
